College, Quicker: 24 Practical Ways to Save Money and Get Your Degree Faster

Author

INTRODUCTION

LIFE. During childhood, I played this game incessantly. I delighted in the virtually endless combinations. I could work as a doctor, a lawyer, or an accountant; live in a mansion, log cabin, or Tudor style; and drive a purple, yellow, or green car. But while I often chose different occupations, residences, and automobiles, I almost always selected the college before career path. Even as young as five, I understood the value of a bachelor’s degree. You’d have more career options and could earn more money. So without much thought, I asked the banker for $100k in loan slips to cover my education costs. Even with the interest, I would accumulate enough to settle my debt after a couple PAY DAYs.

Although this decision was easy in the game, it was much harder in the real world. As I grew older, I discovered the truth about the price of college. It didn’t cost one or two PAY DAYs; it cost 10 years of barely scraping by. Not wanting this life, I decided to create my own path. I would still graduate with a college diploma but without student loans. Obviously, this was easier said than done. I didn’t have an Education Savings Account, a 529 Plan, or a trust fund. Just a few hundred dollars at a local bank. Nearly broke, I would need to roll up my sleeves and bring in the money myself.

I first tried the government aid route. While I didn’t live on skid row, I didn’t reside on Park Avenue either. I came from a middle-class family. And due to our income bracket, I expected some state or federal grants. To attain this money, I filed the FAFSA and patiently waited for my official financial aid award letters. In the spring, they arrived from the colleges I’d been accepted to. Most of the schools awarded me a small amount of scholarship money, but Uncle Sam offered me only loans. The land of the free didn’t give me a penny free. Yet even though the state and federal financial aid systems had failed me, I wasn’t ready to quit. I had a couple other moneymaking options. One down, two to go.

Next, I tried the private scholarships route. Like thousands of other high school students, I searched Fastweb for scholarships offered by organizations other than colleges. Unfortunately, I wasn’t eligible for many. But the few I did qualify for, I applied to over the next several weeks. I spent hours on the computer; I wrote essay after essay after essay. Yet my valiant effort was all for naught. I didn’t win one. That’s right, not even one. And with schoolwork continuing to mount, I decided to move on to the most reliable moneymaking venture. Two down, only one to go.

For my last attempt, I tried the job route. Although I started babysitting at age 12, I never worked more than a few hours a week. And $50 wouldn’t pay for a textbook, let alone tuition. I needed steady employment. Since an espresso shop exists on literally every corner in Seattle, I applied for a barista position. Within a month, I was manning the cash register and the coffeemaker. But between serving and studying, I had little free time. And with my minimum-wage paycheck, I couldn’t tuck much away. By the time I gave my two-weeks’ notice, I had stashed only around $2,000 in savings. A far cry from the $120K college sticker price. Three down, none left.

At this point, I wanted to throw in the towel, wave the white flag. Maybe my goal wasn’t achievable. Just when I was ready to surrender, I remembered a line from a late-night infomercial. There’s got to be a better way. Cliché as it might sound, the TV host was right. I had tried the traditional routes: government aid, private scholarships, and part-time work. And they left me tired and tapped out. I needed an alternative. I racked my brain but came up with nothing. What was this better way?

Unbeknownst to me, the answer sat right under my nose. During high school, I participated in a summer scholars program and a dual enrollment program. I desired college academics as well as college experiences. In addition to fulfilling both of these wants, the programs also helped me earn almost a semester of college credit. But since I was too focused on winning essay scholarships and working extra shifts my senior year, I forgot about this perk. However, I was quickly reminded during a visit to the registrar’s office at my university. After looking over my college transcripts from the high school programs, the transcript analyst made an astute observation. Because of my previously earned credit, I could possibly graduate early.

It was my aha! moment. I had at last discovered the better way. And it had nothing to do with making more money. It dealt with the root of the problem: time. Instead of attending my university for four years, I would go for only two years and complete the remaining 60 credits elsewhere. That meant having to pay just two years’ worth of high tuition, room, and board costs, instead of four. But once again, a question lingered in my mind. How would I obtain these credits?

Compared to the first one, this question didn’t have a single answer. I could earn credits through many different kinds of courses, exams, and activities. But as there was no universal list or comprehensive resource explaining all of these opportunities, I’d have to find them myself. I sought out suggestions from counselors, teachers, peers, and online forums. And if an idea seemed plausible and affordable, I gave it a go. Fortunately, my hard work paid off. At age 20, I graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree. But my 4.0 GPA wasn’t even the best part. Because college ended up costing nearly half my original estimate, I had just enough funds from university scholarships and part-time work to cover it and walk away with my diploma debt-free.

Like me, you might have tried to pay for college through the traditional routes. But as you’ve come to realize, four or more years of college aren’t often easily paid for by government aid, private scholarships, and minimumwage paychecks. However, by following my better way, you can achieve an affordable education through an early graduation. Yet, unlike me, you don’t have to go down this road alone. Since I’ve already done the research, you can forgo muddling through questionable suggestions from school counselors or confusing information on online forums. This book will serve as a clear road map, showing you exactly how to graduate in less time. While there is no surefire guarantee, my tried and tested strategies should help you earn college credits quickly and fly through your degree.

But I didn’t write this book merely so you can graduate early. I wrote it so you can experience the benefits of an early graduation. And whether you shave off one semester or two years from the typical four (or more common nowadays, five or six), you’ll reap these rewards. First and foremost, you’ll save money. By not spending as much on tuition, room, and board, you’ll reduce or even eliminate the need for student loans. Second, but no less important, you’ll save time. By not spending as many terms relearning material you previously acquired in high school or taking courses that don’t interest you to fulfill graduation requirements, you’ll have the ability to chase after your dreams sooner. Ultimately, graduating early isn’t a carefree, free ride, but it can give you the freedom from paying loans and the freedom to pursue your dreams.

How to Use This Book

College, Quicker isn’t intended to be read cover to cover. After learning about colleges’ transfer credit policies and designing your graduation plan in Section 1, you’ll have free rein to delve into and work through any of the 24 fast-track opportunities (FTOs) in Sections 2 through 6. Except for the College Credit-by-Exam and Bonus FTOs, all of them have an identical format. They open with fast facts about the opportunity, including when to start, when to complete, how much you might spend, and how much college credit you might earn. Since the cost and potential credit can vary, symbols are used instead of actual numbers. The following table shows exactly what the symbols mean.

(If you’re thinking, $1,000! I can’t afford that! flip to The Projections on page 6 of Section 1 to gain some serious perspective on just how much these costs could save you in the short and long term.)

After the fast facts comes the meat of the opportunity. The introduction contains a lighthearted story. It’s a personal account from my life or someone close to me about the FTO—because sometimes it’s helpful to hear an insider’s perspective. The remaining five segments get down to business. The Basics provide an overview of the opportunity, The Benefits highlight some of the opportunity’s top advantages, The Bottom Line offers examples of the opportunity’s financial savings, The Brief Questions help you determine whether the opportunity is right for you, and The Blueprint includes step-by-step instructions for the opportunity.

COLLEGE, QUICKER SIDEBARS

Throughout this book, you’ll notice sidebars with bite-sized pieces of information, each possibly relevant and helpful in your journey toward an early graduation. The sidebars all include an icon indicating their topic, so you can quickly find the type of information you’re looking for:

Eager to explore the better way? You can do it. You can afford your education. You can graduate early. And you can have an unforgettable adventure along the way. Simply turn the page and start reading.

ORGANIZE YOUR EARLY GRADUATION PLAN

The Basics of Transfer Credit Policy

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. You’ve probably heard this line from your parents or teachers. And while it’s obviously cheesy, it’s also inevitably true. In order to succeed, you need an outline, a model, a draft, or a layout. Or in this case, an early graduation plan. From teaching you about the all-important transfer credit policy to explaining financial advantages to debunking myths and misconceptions to revealing common pitfalls, this section will help you construct this very plan. So when you do start down the early graduation path, failure won’t even be a possibility.

The Policy

Just as with students, no two schools are the same. They’re often differentiated by location, environment, size, admission requirements, academics, athletics, financial aid, cost, facilities, activities, and housing. And while all of these are significant, a factor equally as important is missing from this list. But it should be on your radar since it’ll make or break an early graduation—it’s the transfer credit policy.

The transfer credit policy outlines protocols and procedures for the transfer of credit from traditional and nontraditional sources to the college or university. The policy is not limited to transfer students; it applies to first-time freshmen as well.

Unique and specific to each institution of higher education, the transfer credit policy outlines protocols and procedures for the transfer of credit from traditional sources (usually from other accredited schools) and nontraditional sources (standardized exams, noncollegiate learning, prior learning portfolios, and military training and experience) to the college or university. Confused? If your nose and forehead just scrunched up or you raised an eyebrow, you’re not alone. This definition might seem complex, but the concept is actually not. Simply put, a transfer credit policy describes what types and how much transfer credit the school will accept. Still confused? Look at this example of a policy for a fictitious college, School A:

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY

Must earn a minimum of 50 credits at School A

TRADITIONAL CREDITS

›Will accept up to 60 credits for work completed at other institutions

•Must be from a regionally accredited U.S. college or university (not a foreign or unaccredited institution)

•Must be presented on an official transcript

•Must be college-level, postsecondary courses (no remedial classes)

•Must be awarded a C or better

•Must be similar in nature, level, and content to a course offered by our school

NONTRADITIONAL CREDITS

Maximum of 45 credits from all nontraditional sources

›Will accept up to 15 credits from AP, CLEP, and DSST exams

•Must meet the American Council on Education (ACE) recommended score

›Will accept up to 15 credits for noncollegiate learning

•Must be identified, evaluated, and recommended for credit by the American Council on Education (ACE) or the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS)

›Will award up to 15 credits for a prior learning portfolio

•Must be degree-seeking and admitted to the program of study

›Will accept up to 15 credits for military training and experience

•Must be presented on an official JST or CCAF transcript

Obviously, the example will provide you with only a basic idea. Most transfer credit policies are much more detailed, spanning over multiple pages inside a school’s course catalog and on its website. They’re often wordy and complicated. Even so, don’t skip over them. You’ll need to read over the information to make an important determination. Is each policy generous or not? With a generous credit policy, you can accumulate a significant amount of credit from outside sources. And compared to credit earned on the school’s campus, credit earned off campus is typically less costly and less time-consuming. Therefore, more than anything else, a generous transfer credit policy is the key to a quicker degree.

But what exactly is a generous transfer credit policy? Unfortunately, there is no perfect answer. Since the term generous is fairly subjective, it’s all relative. You’ve probably noticed this with money. Scenario #1: You show up to a birthday party with a $25 gift card, while everyone else comes with at least $100. Your gift is considered stingy. Scenario #2: You go to a party with the same $25, while everyone else arrives empty-handed. Your gift is viewed as generous. Ultimately, whether your gift is stingy or generous is determined almost entirely by the gifts of others.

The same principle holds true for transfer credit policies. A school with a generous policy accepts more traditional credit as well as more types of nontraditional credit than the other schools in its comparison group. So comparing three schools (Schools B, C, and D), if School B accepts 60 traditional credits and 30 nontraditional credits from standardized exams and noncollegiate learning, School C accepts 45 traditional credits and 20 nontraditional credits only from standardized exams, and School D accepts 30 traditional credits but 0 nontraditional credits, School B clearly has the most generous policy. Fairly easy, right?

When your comparison group is relatively small (less than 20 schools), you can look at all the policies together and spot the most generous without much trouble. However, this strategy isn’t ideal for a large comparison group (20 or more schools). You’ll spend hours and might make more than a few mistakes. Therefore, you should look at each school’s policy individually and figure out whether or not the school accepts at least one to two years of credit (30 to 60 semester hours) from traditional sources and one year of credit (30 semester hours) from two or more types of nontraditional sources (standardized exams, noncollegiate learning, prior learning portfolios, and military training and experience). If it does, it has a generous transfer credit policy.

A school with a generous transfer credit policy accepts at least one to two years of credit from traditional sources and one year of credit from two or more types of nontraditional sources.

So how can you use this knowledge about generous transfer credit policies? It depends on your stage in the college search and selection process. If you haven’t started either yet, evaluate dozens if not hundreds of colleges and select 10 to 15 with not only your must-haves but also generous transfer credit policies. Since you’ll assess 20 or more schools, use the strategy for the large comparison group. That means, unless it’s your dream school, eliminate any that don’t accept at least one to two years of credit from traditional sources and one year of credit from two or more types of nontraditional sources. If your efforts are coming up short and you aren’t looking to take classes on campus, research Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State College, and Charter Oak State College. In the test-for-credit world, these regionally accredited colleges are commonly referred to as the Big Three because they have the most liberal credit acceptance policies among postsecondary institutions. While they all offer online courses and their own credit-by-examination programs, their very low residency requirements mean you can transfer in most credit and earn little to none at their schools.

If you’ve already narrowed your selections to around 10 to 15 colleges, apply to the six to eight with the most generous transfer credit policies. Since you’ll assess less than 20 schools in this case, employ the strategy for the small comparison group. In some circumstances, this task will be fairly quick and easy. Suppose, for example, seven of your top schools accept 45 traditional credits and 30 nontraditional credits from standardized exams and prior learning portfolios, while your remaining choices accept only 30 traditional credits and 15 nontraditional credits from standardized exams. Obviously, those in the first group have the more generous policies. In other instances, however, you’ll need to put in additional effort. For example, suppose that all of your top schools accept roughly the same amount and type of credit. Instead of drawing straws or flipping a coin, take a closer look at each policy. Maybe one or more have tighter time restrictions on accepting transfer credit. Or higher minimum scores for exams for credit. Or pricier fees for transferring prior learning credits. Use these stipulations to make your final decision.

Commonly referred to as the Big Three, Excelsior College, Thomas Edison State College, and Charter Oak State College have the most liberal credit acceptance policies among postsecondary institutions.

If you’ve formally accepted admission or are already enrolled in college, either embrace your school’s transfer credit policy or switch schools. However, while you technically have these two options, transferring should ideally be a last resort. You should first get to know your college’s policy inside and out. Read through it thoroughly in the course catalog, and discuss it at length with your academic advisor or a staff member in the registrar’s office. Only after all of this research should you even consider leaving. And since you might lose a few credits during the transfer, you should only go to an institution that has a significantly better policy (i.e., it accepts 45 credits more—not 5 more) than your current school’s.

Why does a generous transfer credit policy matter? You already know two reasons. Since credit acquired off campus is typically less costly and less time-consuming, you won’t spend as much money or waste as much time. In addition, there is a third not as obvious but still as important advantage. By choosing a school with a generous transfer credit policy, there’s a strong possibility that you’ll feel valued by your educational provider. Some colleges and universities have the my way or the highway mentality. You can only attend their classes with their teachers in their classrooms. A school with a generous credit policy, however, often has a more student-centered focus. It doesn’t only care about its balance sheet, it also cares about you. Even if it means it loses a year or two of your tuition, the school allows you to earn credit through other schools, exams, experiences, and so on. Its ultimate goal is for you to succeed, graduate, and become a proud alum.

The Projections

Forget staring into a crystal ball or having your palm read. You’re about to see into your financial future without them. Or to be more exact, two possible futures. One where you graduate in four years and another where you graduate in less time.

Four-year graduation plan: With average tuition, room, and board costing between $18,943 and $42,419 per year, your college expenses could add up to around $75,772 to $169,676 (see Table 1).¹ And since, on average, scholarships cover only 17 percent and grants 14 percent,² you and your parents will have to foot the remainder of the bill out of your own pockets. Like 7 out of 10 graduates from public and private nonprofit colleges, you’ll probably have to take out loans—which for the class of 2013 averaged $28,400 per student—and spend the following 10 or more years paying off your debt.³

TABLE 1